The main theme of PARA 2008 was State-of-the-Art in Scientific
and Parallel Computing. Interesting topics included
(but are not restricted to) algorithms, software, tools,
environments as well as applications for Scientific Computing,
High Performance Computing, Parallel Computing,
Grid Computing, and Computer Simulations including
Interactive and Scientific Visualization.

Key lectures, topical minisymposia, and a limited number of contributed talks were presented at the workshop.

Special treat: 17th of May - Norway's National
Day celebrations
If you have not been to Norway on May 17, staying an extra
day in Norway will provide you a very special treat
whether you stay in Trondheim
to watch our 3 parades or stop over in Oslo and
watch the 2+hr children's parade passing the Royal
Castle and later in the afternoon "Russetoget".
All of Norway will be celebrating waving our
Norwegian flags in honor of our Constitution signed
on May 17, 1814!

Quick history: Norway became a united country
in 872 AD after the Viking battle at Hafrsfjord. The era ended
due to the Black Plague hitting in 1349 wiping out about half
of Norway's population, hitting the cities especially hard.
Around the same time we
joined through royal mariages & politics Sweden and
Denmark. Sweden broke off in 1523, but Norway was part
of Denmark for 400 years, then "given"
to Sweden in 1814 after Denmark sided with Napoleon (and lost).
Norway became independent from Sweden in 1905 (peacefully!),
but managed to get its constitution written in 1814
right before joining Sweden. Our constitution is inspired
by the US Consitution as well as the French Revolution.